Dr. Seuss's auto ads are surreal

Before Green Eggs and Ham, it was Ford and Standard Oil

Before Ted Geisel became the good Dr. Seuss, he was a self-described "subversive as hell" illustrator who did memorable work for some of the biggest brands
of the 20th century. It's no wonder that some of those accounts were auto-related, given the way the car business boomed after the Second World War.

The University of California San Diego has put some of its collection of Dr. Seuss advertising art up on the internet for all to see. Among the work for
items as diverse as bug spray, plastic cups and beer are pieces for Ford and Standard Oil. Check out the collection at the UCSD Mandeville Special
Collections website to see some of this extraordinary illustrator's work for commerce, you're sure to see some well-known characters in nascent form.